History
"Ernie" was originally written in 1955 as the introduction to an unfilmed screenplay about Hill's milkman experiences.
In 1966, Frank Gallop had a U.S. hit with "The Ballad of Irving", which had the same melody and a similar metre.
Hill performed the song on The Benny Hill Show in 1970. The original clip is seldom repeated as it was made in black and white owing to a technicians' strike, but the episode has been released on DVD on both sides of the Atlantic.
The following year, it was included with minor lyrical revisions on Hill's album Words and Music. When it was released as a single on EMI's Columbia label, it became a surprise number-one hit, topping the UK singles chart for four weeks at Christmas 1971. A promotional film was shot starring Hill as Ernie and Henry McGee as Ted
Hill re-recorded the song shortly before his death in 1992 for the album Benny Hill... The Best Of.
On Desert Island Discs in May 2006, Conservative Party leader David Cameron picked it as one of his eight favourite records.
Ernie was referenced in the Superhero segment of one episode of BBC TV's Basil's Swap Shop, with an Ernie lookalike appearing at the superhero's flat, only to be told that speedy delivery of milk was not a super-power.
Read more about this topic: Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)
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